The Nigerian Police Force has arrested two sons and an adopted daughter of popular Nollywood actor, Mr. John Ikechukwu Okafor, also known as Mr. Ibu, for allegedly stealing N55 million from his public fundraising account.
According to a press release by the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCID), Alagbon, in Ikoyi, Lagos State, the suspects are Onyeabuchi Daniel Okafor, Valentine Okafor, and Jasmine Chioma Okekeagwu.
They were arrested following a petition by Mr. Ibu’s wife, Stella Maris Chinyere Okafor, who accused them of conspiring to defraud Mr. Ibu while he was on a sick bed.
Mr. Ibu, who is a veteran actor and comedian, had launched a public fund-raising initiative in October 2023, after undergoing five surgeries and seeking further treatment abroad.
He had attracted donations from his fans, entertainment industry players, and other well-spirited members of the public into a bank account which he publicized and dedicated for the purpose.
However, the FCID said that the suspects manipulated Mrs. Okafor, took possession of Mr. Ibu’s phone, and hacked into his banking details. They then re-installed the mobile banking applications of Mr. Ibu on the phone of Onyeabuchi Daniel Okafor and wiped off the banking applications originally installed on Mr. Ibu’s phone.
“Through this fraudulent act, Onyeabuchi Daniel Okafor and Jasmine Chioma Okekeagwu started transferring funds from Mr. Ibu’s public fundraising account to Onyeabuchi Daniel Okafor’s personal bank with forensic analysis of their illicit financial dealing establishing that a total of fifty five million naira (N55M) has been successfully and criminally transferred prior to their arrest and investigation,” the FCID said.
The FCID also revealed that the suspects had a sham marriage at the Ikoyi Marriage Registry and planned to escape from the country to the UK with their proceeds of crime. They had already applied for a UK Visa before their arrest.
The FCID spokesperson, ASP Mayegun Aminat, said that the investigation also unearthed text messages via WhatsApp between Jasmine Chioma and Daniel Okafor detailing how they conspired and hatched their criminal plans.
The FCID said that a sum of N50 million has been recovered from the suspects and that they have been charged at the Chief Magistrate Court 1, Yaba in Charge No. A/06/2024 for conspiracy and stealing.